by David Chapman
Staff Writer
City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe might serve up signature crab cakes, pretzel rolls, seafood salad and other house specialties, but it’s more than just a Springfield restaurant.
Behind the food that keeps regulars coming back, owner Clinton Bush is staying true to programs to positively influence youth in several ways.
“We want to make a difference,” said Bush, City Kidz owner.
In addition to the longstanding commitment to financial literacy programs for area youth, Bush’s newest endeavor comes with an extension of his business.
Bush and City Kidz have partnered with Cornell University to create a program to teach some of the area’s brightest students research-based culinary skills in food science. The goal, he said, will be for students to learn the nutritional components of ice cream and create their own from scratch, using raw materials and advanced equipment.
After testing and tasting, it would then be marketed to local stores with a portion of sales going into an endowment fund that would fund college scholarships for students to attend schools like Cornell.
The new endeavor, said Bush, lets students apply skills they’d learn in the classroom of such a food science program and achieves several of Bush’s goals for students: coming out of school debt-free and learning about smart, healthy eating.
“We want them to go to the Cornells of the world, the Ivy League schools, and get into programs like these,” said Bush. “Programs like these will help.”
Once students learn from topflight programs, Bush is confident they will return to Jacksonville and keep the talent local through internships and postgraduate careers if given the opportunities.
Since opening in April 2009, Bush has seen the ups and downs of owning a business. Ice cream sales have struggled, even during a summer of 90 degree temperatures. Instead, the other parts of the menu have helped his business survive the rough times.
“If we were just an ice cream shop, we would have been closed by the end of the year,” admits Bush.
But despite struggles, Bush has invested and he believes it will greatly pay off.
He recently purchased the adjoining space and opened a special events center. It will house the necessary equipment for the food science program, but is intended for much more.
After-work functions, wine tastings, private parties, lunch and learns – Bush hopes to see the space serve a multitude of events, and combined with the newest program, is a venture he believes will take off.
“Life is beautiful,” he said with a smile.
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